Wolfblood
by relena soulheart
Summary: Xion Strife didn't like hiding her secret of being a wolfblood from her friends, but things changed when she meets the new boy. Based off of the TV series on BBC.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and Wolfblood belong to their respective owners.**_

**Chapter 1**

Everything was quiet around the house other than the sounds of the TV in the living room. A young teenage girl with short black hair and indigo eyes laid on the couch as she switched the channels on the TV screen. She had on a plain black shirt and blue jeans that were slightly stained from a few snacks she was eating earlier.

A faint rustling from outside reached her ears and she turned off the TV. After hearing it again, she slipped on her shoes went outside to investigate. Slowly and carefully, the ravenette walked down the dirt path searching for the sound and her eyes caught a knocked over bin near the picket fence.

A low growl turned her attention to the hole in the fence a few feet away. The moment she looked inside, the girl froze when she saw a wolf with blonde fur eating something in the grass. She averted her gaze to an open cellar where a wolf with jet black fur was trying to jump out.

Looking back at the blonde one, the wolf snarled at her, its gold yellow eyes glowing in the moonlight and baring into her indigo ones.

"GET BACK INSIDE!"

The wolf was taken aback by her outburst, but it then growled at her threateningly. But she stood her ground as she slowly walked toward it, leaning slightly forward, her arms spread out, and a fierce look in her eyes. The wolf tried to get away, but the girl made sure to cut off his escape by blocking his path. With every step, they circled each other as the wolf was pushed closer and closer to the cellar.

The girl kept her gaze on the snarling wolf as her eyes gradually changed color. From the outer ring of her retina to the pupil, her indigo eyes turned into a golden yellow, the same color as the wolves'.

With a fierce growl, she dived at the wolf, making it back away and fall into the open cellar.

Her eyes returning to their indigo hue, the ravenette walked to the cellar. Looking down she saw the blond one backing away out of sight, but then the black one leapt up and dug its claws into the wooden frame. On reflex, the girl grabbed one of her shoes and smacked it right on the head before it could climb out. After dropping her shoe in, the ravenette quickly slammed the doors shut and propped a pole through the handles.

Breathing out heavily, the girl looked up at the full moon and shook her head disapprovingly.

As she went back inside, one thought ran through her head: _I hope I don't end up like them when my time comes…_

_**I loved watching "Wolfblood" after it premiered on Disney Channel and I've been watching it on BBC ever since. And with Halloween coming soon, I thought of doing a Kingdom Hearts crossover with the show. I'll be putting in my own little twists so it won't be exactly like the episode plots.**_

_**I'll be putting up a poll for you to decide who would play the part of Rhydian Morris. Be sure to vote!**_

_**Anyway, please favorite, follow, and/or review!**_

_**Remember, if I get at least two reviews for each new chapter, I'll put up the next one as soon as I can. :)**_

_**Later! Or as a wolf blood would say,**_

_***clears throat***_

_**AAAAARRRROOOOOOOOOWWWLLLLL!**_

_**Lol. : D Couldn't help myself. **_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As Xion finished putting on her uniform, she made her way to the basement doors. After removing the locks and the cage doors, she went inside to find two adults lying on the ground unconscious. One of them was a strong pale-skinned woman with long straight raven hair and the other was a man with the same pale skin but spiky blonde hair.

As they both started to wake up, the blond man groaned as he clutched his stomache, "Ugh…I think that chicken wore off."

"I can't believe you two. Breaking out and sniffing through the trash." Xion groaned when she saw her chewed up sneaker on the floor. "Mom! Really?" she said, exasperated. She picks up her shoe and storms out of the cellar, Tifa and Cloud following behind her. "You always said we have to stay hidden from humans and not give in to our wolf selves," Xion complained irritably.

"Xion, you don't understand how powerful the effect of the moon is on us," Cloud rebutted.

"When you're old enough to take wolf form, you'll-"

"I'm not trying to be a hypocrite mom," the young teen chastised as Tifa took her shoe away, "It's just…why say stay hidden then break out at the first whiff of food?" Xion then looked at her father in disgust. "And that chicken?" Cloud looked away in slight embarrassment.

As Tifa went to throw away Xion's shoe, she noticed the discarded bags of snacks in the trashcan. "Well, it looks like your dad wasn't the only one eating things he shouldn't." Xion froze.

"Yeah…you were still dressed when you came out last night," Cloud pointed out. "Did you stay up past curfew again?" he asked suspiciously.

"I've got to get to school. Bye!" Xion said hastily, both in a hurry to catch the bus and to avoid her parents' wrath.

"And next time don't hit me on the nose again young lady!" Tifa called out, then mumbled as she rubbed her nose lightly, "I swear it still hurts…"

When she stood at the doorway, she groaned when she doesn't have her shoes on. Since one of them was now torn and chewed on, she looked at the other pairs lining up along the wall.

* * *

><p>As Xion got off the bus and walked toward the Twilight Town High School building, she ignored the other students mocking at her boots till a group of guys came up to her. The first had long grey-streaked hair tied in a ponytail, a scar on his left cheek, and an eye-patch over his right eye.<p>

"Hey poppet! What's with the weird shoes?" he taunted. All the other boys in the group laughed.

"Hey Xigbar!" A tall boy with spiky red hair and emerald eyes with two upside-down teardrop markings under them came up and placed a hand on Xion's shoulder. "Lay off the kid. At least she can take those off, while you're stuck with that face." Xigbar's group winced as Xion was guided away.

Xion silently thanked the flaming red-head as the two of them made their way to the front of the school, where a student with spiky blond hair swept to one side and blue eyes was waiting for them.

"Yo Roxas!" The blonde looked their way and smiled.

"Axel! Xion!"

"You're here early," Axel said.

"No, you're just late," Roxas replied sarcastically. "Xion, what are you wearing?" he asked, noticing her boots.

"My shoes got eaten by werewolves," Xion said in a sarcastic tone, despite how true it was. "Did you guys see the full moon last night?"

"Hey guys!" A young boy with spiky chestnut hair came running up to them.

"Sora!"

"Hey, did you guys see the full moon last night?"

"Ugh! Don't get me started on that," Roxas groaned, "Namine's been-"

"Kairi! Namine!" At the sound of the brunette's voice, the trio looked to see a blonde girl with blue eyes running up to them with another girl with auburn hair just above her shoulders and violet eyes trailing behind her.

"Morning! Guess what we heard last night," Namine said expectantly.

When no one answered, Kairi told them. "Howling."

"And I found this near Sunset Hill." Namine took out her phone and showed everyone a picture of a paw print. "I'm going to compare this to other photos of canine paw prints."

"Every dog?" Sora asked incredulously.

"Namine, this could just belong to someone's pet Labrador for all we know," Axel remarked.

"I'm serious guys. This is proof that there's something strange out there lurking around Twilight Town."

The warning bell went off and everyone hurried inside. Xion's locker was in the same hallway as Kairi's, Roxas's , and Axel's. She tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear as she overheard Kairi and Sora's conversation. Even though they were pretty far away, she could still be able to hear them due to her heightened sense of hearing.

"I'm getting worried about her Sora," Kairi said as she took her books out of her locker, "She's been at this ever since she-"

"Kairi, don't worry. I'm sure she'll get over it soon. Who knows? She might find something after all."

_I actually hope she doesn't,_ Xion thought. She knew that Namine had been trying to find evidence of the existence of the supposed creatures lurking around Twilight Town, a.k.a. the wolfbloods. As much as she wanted to tell her friends, she didn't want to risk putting them or her family in danger if people found out that 'monsters' were living among them.

Taking her books out of her locker and shutting it closed, she was about to head to class when something caught her attention. More specifically, her nose. She took a deep breath as she smelled something…strange. Even through the mixed scents of perfume, sweat, and snacks, she could detect a strangely familiar aroma of pine, earth, and strangely sea salt. Relentlessly, she followed the scent down the corridor. She brushed past Roxas, but she didn't him call her name. When she reached the stairwell, the scent was gone.

"Xion, you okay?" Roxas asked, catching up to the distracted ravenette.

"N-nothing," she told him, "Come on, let's get to class."

* * *

><p>As Xion and Roxas entered their homeroom, everyone noticed a boy with long silver hair and turquoise eyes standing by Mr. Ansem the Wise at the front of the class.<p>

"Everyone, this is our new student Riku Kurai." As the homeroom teacher introduced the new student, Xion caught a whiff of the scent from before, realizing that Riku was the source.

"You smell like my parents," she blurted out loud. All the students scoffed and laughed at her remark while Riku gave her a weird look.

"Alright. Now everyone please take their seats. You as well, Mr. Kurai."

As Riku walked over to the empty seat near the back, he and Xion kept looking at each other coldly. The moment Riku took his seat, the girls sitting near him didn't waste a second to say hi. Xion rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>After class was over, Riku wandered around the hallways to find his next class when Xion confronted him.<p>

"What are you doing here?"

"What?" Riku asked, confused, "I'm just looking for the-"

"No, I mean here. On our territory. If my parents find out you're here-"

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you!" Riku retorted.

"Exactly!"

"Look, I don't care whose territory this is. I'm not sticking around here and why would I even want to? I don't know what your problem is, but no smelly girl tells me where I can or can't stay!" Riku then walked away with one word in his mind. _Weirdo._

* * *

><p>Later at lunch, Xion sat at a table with her friends, her mind still wondering about Riku. "So what do you think of the new kid?" Axel asked, eyeing the silver-haired boy sitting by himself.<p>

"I don't know," Roxas answered, "he doesn't seem to socialize much."

"What about you Xion?"

Said girl looked over at Riku. "Me either. There's something off about him."

"Hey guys!" Sora, Kairi, Namine, and three other teenagers came over to their table. Two of them were boys, one had short blond hair that stuck up slightly and the other was chubby and had dark black hair and a red headband; the third was a girl with brown hair styled in two pigtails. "So what are we talking about?" Sora asked as he and the others sat down.

"The new kid," Axel explained, "What do you guys make of him?"

Sora shrugged. "I'm not sure. He hasn't really talked to anyone since he's been here."

"But he's already got a fan club and he just got here," the brunette girl, Olette, said, noticing a few female students looking at Riku with dreamy looks.

"Guys!" The blonde, Hayner, exclaimed, "I think you're missing out on the big question here." Everyone at the table looked at him expectantly. "Does he like Struggle?"

Everyone groaned. "Struggle? Really?" the chubby one, Pence asked incredulously.

"Yeah Hayner. Why Struggle?" Sora remarked, "What about blitzball?"

A more irritated groan came from the group. "Sora, you're just as bad as Hayner," Kairi chastised.

"What? Just wondering out loud," Sora said defensively. He then called out to a student with orange hair styled in a cowlick. "Hey Wakka! Think Riku might make a good addition to the team?"

The captain of the blitzball team looked over at Riku's table. "I don't know…he doesn't seem like he'd be interested, ya."

Sora then got up from his seat. "Sora, what are you doing?" Namine asked in slight concern.

"I'm gonna go ask Riku if he wants to try out for the team."

Xion grew worried. "But Sora-"

"Come on! Can't hurt to ask," the spiky brunette said, walking over to where Riku was sitting.

"Sora wait!" Xion cried out.

"Relax Xion. He won't bite," Kairi said.

"I doubt that…" the ravenette mumbled.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll go with him." Hayner got up and walked after Sora. "Besides, as co-captain of the Struggle Team, I've got to check in with possible new recruits." Olette smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey. You're…Riku, right?" Sora asked casually as he walked up to the silvernette.

"Yeah…what do you want?"

"I'm Sora. I was just wandering if you like blitzball."

"Not really…"

"Cause it's a great way to make friends and we could use another player-"

"Although, you could also consider Struggle," Hayner said, cutting off Sora, "I'm Co-Captain Hayner Hikari, at your service."

"Look, I don't like blitzball or Struggle. And I want nothing to do with you and your friends, especially that weird girl! Got it?" he retorted, calmly yet irritably.

"…Got it," Sora responded.

"Yeesh. Attitude much?" Hayner muttered as he and Sora made their way back to their table.

"So?" Olette asked.

"Next time, you guys talk to him," Hayner grumbled.

* * *

><p>The bell rang and everyone was hustling through the hallways to their next class. Riku was walking to his locker when he turned at the next corner and bumped into a girl with green eyes and a light brown shoulder-length bob.<p>

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't see you!" the girl stuttered, blushing immensely.

"No worries," Riku said nonchalantly.

"You're Riku Kurai right?" He nodded. "I'm Selphie. I'm in your science class. How do you like Twilight Town High?"

"It's fine, I guess…" Riku then noticed Xion talking to her friends farther down the hall. "Hey, do you know anything about that girl over there?"

Selphie followed his gaze. "Xion Strife? Her family has lived in this town for centuries. They've never left Twilight Town. Not very fond of strangers either."

"So do you guys want to hang out after school?" Axel asked.

"I'd love to, but I have an art project to get done," Namine answered.

Sora sighed. "I've got blitzball practice."

"Struggle practice for me," Hayner responded.

"Kairi and I've got independent studies today," Olette explained.

"Photography club," Pence deadpanned.

"Well, I guess that just leaves you, me, and Xion Roxas. You guys want to hang out at the Station Tower?"

"You bet!" Roxas said enthusiastically.

"Sure," Xion replied, nodding.

"Hey Selphie! What do you think you're doing with this old codger?"

Everyone turned and saw a tall muscular boy with a scar on the bridge of his face and wearing a beanie pushing Riku against the lockers.

"Seifer, stop!" Selphie cried out.

"What's your problem?" Riku asked irritably.

"You. What do you think you're doing talking to my girl?" Seifer growled.

Riku shoved him away. "It's not like I'm trying to steal her!"

"You got a problem with me chickenwuss?" Seifer threatened, getting into Riku's face.

Riku growled at Seifer and tackled him, pinning him to the ground as he held the front of Seifer's shirt in a tight grip. Xion grew worried when she saw black veins turning visible on his hands.

Another wolfblood.

Riku noticed the black veins and quickly got off of Seifer, staring at the back of his hands in horror.

"What is going on here?" Hearing Mr. Wise's voice from down the hall, Xion quickly grabbed Riku and dragged him into the janitor's closet (A/N: It's one of those really roomy closets. Like Xion would shove him into such a tight space at this point).

"What are you doing?!" he yelled.

"It's alright," Xion said calmly.

Riku started to panic. "You have to get out of here!"

"Clam down! Just breathe-"

"Get out!" Riku backed away and tripped, knocking over a few of the cleaning supplies. Riku was now on all fours with his head down and when he looked up, his turquoise eyes were now a golden color and the black veins were now visible around his neck and face. "I'm so sorry…" he said woefully.

His nails grew into claws. His arms and legs became more slender as his hands became paws. Silver fur started to grow all over his body, and his face became less human and more canine. Quickly, yet painlessly in Riku's case, in his place was an adolescent wolf with silver fur.

Xion stood there in shock, but Riku was frantic as he kept moving around and knocking stuff over, as if trying to get out. But Riku stopped when he saw Xion go on all fours, her head bowed down. Riku was confused by this until the girl raised her head and saw her once indigo eyes had turned yellow like his. That moment, he realized Xion was just like him.

Once Riku had returned to his human form, he couldn't stop talking as he and Xion tried to clean up the mess. "I knew it! I knew there was something about you! When your eyes…I knew we were the same!"

"No we're not!" Xion retorted, much to Riku's shock, "I don't pick fights, show off, or invade other packs' territories! You'll be putting yourself and everyone in danger. And the sooner you leave the better."

Just then Roxas and Axel came into the room. "What happened here?" Axel asked as he surveyed the mess.

Riku shook his head and walked toward the door. Axel and Roxas blocked him, but Xion said, "Let him go." Riku shoved past them. "He doesn't belong here."

Riku looked back at Xion, a cold expression with a twinge of hurt in his turquoise eyes, and then bolted out the door. Once he made it to the school yard, Riku broke into a sprint straight toward the woods without as much as glancing back.

* * *

><p>At the ice cream shop, Roxas and Xion talked as they waited for Axel to buy the ice cream before heading to the Station Tower.<p>

"What was going on with you and Riku?"

"Nothing. Like I said, he doesn't belong here."

The shopkeeper couldn't help overhearing. "Who?"

"Riku Kurai. Tall, silver hair, turquoise eyes," Xion explained nonchalantly.

"Ah. The Silvias' new foster kid," the shopkeeper thought out loud.

Xion blinked. "Wait, he's in foster care?"

"Yeah. He must have been quite the trouble maker if he had to move all the way here for a fresh start."

"So he's an orphan?" Roxas asked. The shopkeeper nodded. Xion then felt absolutely guilty about all those things she said to him. She didn't know…

"Go on without me. I've got to go!" Just as Axel had come out with three bars of sea salt ice cream, Xion ran off into the plaza. Picking up on his scent, she followed it all the way to the woods.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long until Xion saw him trekking the forest path alone with a small pouch slung over his shoulder. "Riku! Wait!"<p>

"Don't worry, I'm leaving!" Riku shouted, not stopping or even looking behind him.

"Wait!" Xion caught up to him and grabbed his arm to get him to stop. "Look, I'm sorry about those things I said earlier…I was stupid. We can help you if you'd just –"

"I had help. Counseling, Ritilian, some people thought I should be sent to an asylum for pete's sake!"

"We can really help you. You need to learn to control your wolf self before someone gets hurt. Including you."

"You're just like the rest of them!" Riku yelled angrily and he ran off. Xion was about to run after him, but being familiar to the area, Xion took a shortcut and caught up to him easily.

"I know that you're in foster care. I know you're alone."

Riku scoffed irritably. "So?"

"Like you said, I'm like you."

"You might be like me, but you think like them. You think you're trying to make me better, but you know what? What I am, what I turn into, that's better! Better than anything I've ever known and I'm not letting anyone take that away from me!"

"I'm not letting you go!"

"Go ahead. Chase me, stop me! Use your wolf powers and see how long it takes for someone to find out what you are. I'll bet none of your so-called friends even know, do they?"

…

"Thought not."

Riku broke into a full on sprint and ran off farther into the trees. Having no other choice, Xion chased after him. Before long, they were both picking up speed, running faster and faster till their surroundings were nothing but a blur of green, brown, and white. As Xion ran after Riku, she felt more free and alive than she had ever felt in a long time.

Suddenly, she stopped when Riku was nowhere to be found. Then she heard a whistle from above, and saw Riku standing on a high branch, smirking at her with his hands in his pockets.

"Show off!" Xion shouted, earning a mischievous grin from the silvernette.

Then the chase continued as soon as the silvernette jumped down and took off again. Xion was soon right on his heels and when she tried to grab the back of his jacket, Riku managed to evade her grasp, laughing whole-heartedly.

Giving one final attempt, Xion leapt forward and tackled him, making then fall down a small hill.

Right in front of Axel and Roxas.

Apparently, Axel and Roxas went after Xion after she ran off. "Uh…hey guys," Xion stuttered as she and Riku got on their feet and brushed off the dirt on their clothes.

"Xion, what's going on? What are you doing hanging around with Riku?" Roxas asked, eyeing Riku warily.

"Look, I can explain. It turns out that Riku and I are related. Distant cousins actually. He was the black sheep of the family and I didn't want him here, so I mistreated him. He got upset and lashed out in the janitor's closet. You don't have to be best friends, but Riku's a part of my life now. Whether we like it or not."

Axel and Roxas looked skeptically at Riku, but reluctantly they agreed.

"Sure."

"Welcome to Twilight Town," Axel said. Riku smiled slightly.

"Better make sure we let the others know. I'm sure Sora and Hayner would still like you to be in Struggle or blitzball," Roxas said amusingly, making Xion giggle and Axel chortle.

* * *

><p>After hanging out in the plaza, Axel and Roxas headed home while Xion and Riku decided to walk together to talk a little bit more about what they are.<p>

"So how long have you been in foster care?" Xion asked.

"For a while…since I was two," Riku answered slowly.

"And no one knows what you are?" Riku remained silent. "So, what did you do during the full moon last night?"

"Couldn't stay in my room. I snuck out through the window and spent the night wandering the woods."

"So that must have been your paw print Namine found. Was it the first time you changed?"

"Second actually. First time it happened, I was kicked out of my last foster home."

"What happened?"

"One night I went to bed and the next morning, I woke up in a ditch. Turns out I trashed my bedroom and the rest of the house, so they kicked me out."

"Must have been hard…"

"What about you? Full moons must be quite a blast here."

Xion replied uneasily, "Well…I actually haven't had my first transformation yet."

"So technically, I know more about this stuff than you?" Riku teased.

"Oh yeah, you're the expert." Xion rolled her eyes amusingly. "That's why you nearly went wolf on Seifer in front of half the school."

"Hey, I didn't know that would happen," Riku said defensively, "I thought werewolves only turn during a full moon."

"We feel the urge to change when we feel angry of threatened," Xion explained, "If you learn to control it, you can transform whenever you want."

"How do you know so much about this stuff?" he asked.

"My parents," she answered matter-of-factly, "And it's wolfblood, not werewolf. We're not monsters."

"Funny thing is, I don't remember getting bitten by one."

"Bitten?" Xion couldn't help but giggle softly, "Riku, you don't become a wolfblood by getting bit by one."

"Don't laugh," he scowled.

"Sorry…You have a lot to learn Riku."

"Well, think you can teach me, smelly girl?" he asked cheekily.

Xion smiled. "You were born this way. Believe it or not, you're normal. Everything you thought made you a freak, sight, hearing, speed, sense of smell, they're all normal for a wolfblood."

"So, suppose I do stick around, for a while…" Riku began slowly.

"You'll have a pack. People to teach you-"

"Uh, no," Riku cut her off, "No rules, no lectures, and keep your group hugs and your big furry family. I'll do thing my way."

"A lone wolf huh?" Xion cocked her eyebrow at him. "Next time you lose control, what then?"

"It'll be an interesting day then wouldn't it?" he said dismissively.

_It'll be interesting alright…_she thought as they kept walking. One thing's for sure, Xion finally had someone she can really talk with and so did Riku.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And done! :) For now anyway. This is just from the first episode so there may be more on the way. <strong>_

_**So what did you guys think? **_

_**By the way, I want to thank chickenscrews for following and reviewing. Thank you so much! Any you're right. The two reviews policy thing probably wasn't a good idea. **_

_**So the whole leave two reviews thing? Forget about it! For this fanfic and for my other one that's still in progress.**_

_**But constructive criticism is most appreciative, so please leave a review to let me know what you guys liked or anything that I could work on.**_

_**My other fanfic Lost in Darkness might be on hold for now, so as far as fanfics go, my main focus will be Wolfblood. For those of you reading and following Lost in Darkness, don't worry! The story will continue!**_

_**Well, time for me to go! Don't forget to favorite, follow, and/or review!**_

_**Bye bye for now! :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**(edited)**

Namine ran back to her house, an excited look plastered on her face. Rushing inside, she hurried to her room and slammed the bedroom door, unintentionally waking her sister Kairi up.

"Namine?" Kairi groaned, rubbing her eyes sleepily, "What's-?" The auburn-haired teen looked at her clock and it read 6:30am. "Namine, school doesn't start until 8. What are you doing so early?"

"I think I finally got it," Namine responded, turning on the computer and plugging in her camera.

Kairi looked at the blond worryingly as her sister scrolled through various pictures on the screen. Her sister had been at this for years and Kairi's afraid it'll get out of hand sooner or later. "Namine, I know you've been searching for proof for so long, but how do you know for sure that you'll actually-"

She stopped and did a double take at the screen when Namine zoomed in on one of the pictures. It was of a small clearing in the woods, but what really caught the girls' attention was a dark figure hiding in the bushes, its bright yellow eyes peering toward the camera.

Namine smiled. "Gotcha."

* * *

><p>As the students rushed into the school building, a black van had pulled up into the parking lot. "Thanks for the ride mom," Xion said gratefully as she got out of the car.<p>

"No problem, but next time you miss the bus, you can walk to school," Tifa said sternly.

"If I ran, I would've made it before the bus."

"Don't forget to invite Riku over for dinner sometime. We need to talk to him about," Tifa looked around to make sure no one was listening and whispered, "transforming safely."

"Let me talk to him first." Xion remembered how Riku wanted to do things his way and she didn't want him to feel like he's being forced to be like everyone else.

"I'm glad you're willing to help him, but you should still invite him over every once in a while. So which one is he?" Tifa asked as she around the courtyard. Using her keen sense of smell and sight, Tifa was able to spot the silver-haired wolfblood walking towards the building. "That's him right?"

Xion followed her mother's gaze and grinned. "Can't hide anything from a wolfblood."

"I'm serious Xion," Tifa said, not returning her daughter's amusement, "He could expose us and put us in real danger."

"Mom, Riku's not an idiot." Xion said defensively. "Look, I've got to go. If he does decide to come over, just promise me you won't do anything embarrassing."

"Of course! Why on earth would I do that?" Xion rolled her eyes, not wanting to answer that question, and closed the car door before walking away. When she was about halfway across the courtyard, the sound of a car horn made her turn around.

"Remember Wednesday's Roast Night!" Tifa shouted. Xion gave her mother a pointed look before quickly walking toward the building, trying to avoid the weird looks from the other students.

* * *

><p>"Xion!" Said girl looked up to see Roxas running up to her down the hall.<p>

"Hey Roxas! What's going on?"

"Namine took this picture of the strange beast in the woods. Check it out!" he exclaimed, giving her a piece of paper.

Xion looked at it and her eyes widened when she saw a photo of a dark shadow with yellow eyes in the woods. Across the top of the page were the words _Monster of Twilight Town. Proof at Last!_

"Idiot," she mumbled inaudibly.

When Roxas and Xion arrived at their homeroom, everyone, their friends included, was looking at their copy of the posters while they were talking to Namine and asking her questions.

"I can't believe it! This is amazing!"

"That's so scary!"

"When did you get this?" Hayner asked.

"I took it this morning," Namine answered proudly.

"Unbelievable!"

"To think I thought you were crazy."

"It kind of looks like a wolf," Pence deducted, peering closely at the image, "Were you scared?"

"Not really. I've been searching for years," Namine replied. She was feeling proud of herself that she had finally found proof and people were now starting to believe her.

"You call this proof?" Everyone turned their heads to the doorway to see Xigbar with a skeptic look on his face.

"Yeah," Namine replied.

The one-eyed teen smirked. "As if! How do we know these aren't Photo-shopped?"

Everyone looked at Namine, but she wasn't fazed. "Say what you want, but I have the camera with the original photos. You can't fake those," Namine argued with a smug grin.

"Yeah, and I saw the picture myself after she took it this morning," Kairi added.

Xigbar shrugged indifferently. "Well, prove it. Show us."

Everyone followed Namine to her locker, where she claimed to have kept her camera. When the blonde opened it, she looked through her belongings for her camera. When she found it, she turned it on, only to see a message on the screen saying the memory card wasn't inside. Growing frantic, she thoroughly checked her locker to see if it was inside. While Namine searched, Xion caught the scent of pine and sea salt lingering by her locker. There was only one person she knew that had that scent.

"I swear I had it!" Namine cried when she couldn't find the memory card.

"Oh really? Maybe the monster took it," Seifer taunted.

"Well, _someone_ must have taken it," Namine argued.

"Another one of your conspiracies Namine?" one of the students leered.

"You took it didn't you?" Namine said, glaring at Xigbar, "To make me look like an idiot?"

"As if!" Xigbar scoffed, "Like you ever needed any help with that." He smirked at Kairi. "Looks your sister got a little desperate didn't she Princess?" Everyone but Namine's friends laughed as they walked away. Axel glared at Xigbar and followed the one-eyed teen to interrogate him.

"Namine, are you sure you didn't leave it at home?" Sora asked.

"I'm sure of it!"

"Namine, we can just go home and see if the card's there," Kairi said.

"Kairi, I'm sure I had it with me before we left for school!"

"Namine, it's alright-"

"No it isn't Roxas! They believed me! No one has ever believed me before!"

"We believe you," Xion stated.

"Yeah," Olette said, "That's all that matters."

"No! I was so close this time and the evidence is still in that card!" Namine argued.

Everyone looked at the distressed blonde with worry and concern. They all knew how much this meant to her, and seeing her in this state just tears them to pieces.

* * *

><p>"That was uncalled for!" Axel scowled as he walked after Xigbar.<p>

"Oh really?" Xigbar asked indifferently, "Don't tell me that you actually believe the monster exists too!"

"..."

"Ha! Why you chose to be with those losers is beyond me, Flamingstocks."

Axel stopped in the middle of the hallway as Xigbar kept walking, the red head looking at the mono-eyed teen in contemplation.

* * *

><p>During art class, Xion was sitting next to Riku, giving her the chance to interrogate him about the card.<p>

"I know it was you," she whispered.

"Yeah. You can thank me later," he replied nonchalantly.

"Thank you?! You made Namine look like a fool!"

Riku shrugged. "Tough luck."

"Riku, if you hadn't had gone wandering around the woods this morning, none of this would've happened!"

The silvernette raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about? That wasn't me!"

"Then who else would it have been?"

"Whatever happened to innocent till proven guilty?"

"Our wolf pack hasn't been sighted in Twilight Town for years. Then you came around and Namine suddenly has a picture."

"What about your parents?"

"They don't go wolf in public!" Xion was getting more and more annoyed by the minute. "Why don't you just admit that you took the memory card just to cover your own tracks?"

"I only took it to protect us," he said defensively, "But if you'd rather protect your friend's reputation rather than your own kind, go ahead. See if I care!" He reached into his shirt pocket and slammed the memory card on the desk. Xion quickly stashed it in her pocket and naiether wolfblood speak another word to each other.

* * *

><p>Later that day after school, Xion spotted Namine walking down the hall in utter humiliation. "Namine, are you okay?"<p>

"Besides being the laughing stock of the whole school, I'm just fine," she sarcastically answered, "And now I've got detention tomorrow!"

"What?! Why?"

"Apparently, photocopying 30 posters is a misuse of school property. Kairi hasn't talked to me much since yesterday. She's probably embarrassed by her own sister. Xion, I need to find that card!"

Just then, a small group of students walked right by them, openly taunting Namine.

"Seriously, that girl has been obsessed since the third grade!"

"I know right?"

"So pathetic!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself." The hecklers laughed and Xion gave them a disapproving look.

"Namine. Don't listen to them-"

"You know what? I think I'm just going to head home..."

"Why don't you come over to my place? Or we can just hang out with Axel and Roxas? We can go to the beach or-"

"I think I'll pass..."

Xion looked at her warily, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Namine?"

Namine gave a ghost of a smile , but it quickly vanished and she walked away. Xion felt her heart grow heavy at the sight of her deeply troubled friend.

* * *

><p>Running through the woods using his wolf speed, Riku followed the scent of lavender and vanilla to the clearing where Namine had taken the picture of the wolfblood. Although the silvernette was mad that Xion accused him of taking the memory card out of selfish reasons, he actually felt guilty he made Namine look foolish in front of the whole school. When he asked Kairi where Namine was, the red head told him she went off into the woods somewhere and the silver-haired wolfblood went to track Namine down.<p>

His heightened sense of hearing picked up the sound of crying coming from a fallen tree. Looking behind it, he found Namine sitting down with a sktechbook clutched on her lap as tears cascaded down her .

"You okay?" Namine looked up to see Riku and she averted her gaze.

"Riku, please. I want to be alone," she said, sniffling.

Ignoring her request, he made his way over to her and sat down on the ground next to her. Riku peered down at sketchbook on her lap; it was a sketch of a dark figure up close with its piercing, fearsome eyes staring right at him. "That's pretty good."

Namine wiped away her tears. "Thanks…"

"So why are so interested in this monster of Twilight Town anyways?" he asked, hoping he wasn't treading on dangerous waters on the topic.

Namine looked at him, thinking that he was asking just so he could make fun of her as well. But seeing only concern and sincerity in his eyes, she took a deep breath and explained. "A few years ago, Kairi and I went on a camping trip in the woods with our friends. We were all asleep for the night after a long day of exploring..."

_*Flashback*_

_A faint rustling from outside woke Namine up with a start. She looked around from inside the tent but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The blonde laid back down and tried to get back to sleep, but a snapping branch made her shot right back up. Seconds later, a dark shadow loomed on the side of the tent before it disappeared out of sight._

"_Pst! Kairi," she whispered, nudging her auburn sister sleeping next to her._

_Kairi groaned softly. "Namine, what's wrong?"_

"_There's something right outside the tent! Something really scary!"_

"_Namine, it was probably just a raccoon. Just go back to sleep." Kairi turned her body to the other side and slept soundly again._

_Seeing that her sister couldn't be bothered anymore, she quietly got out of the tent with flashlight in hand and went to investigate._

_She wandered into the woods, but not too far from the campsite. An eerie howl echoed through the night and Namine scanned the area with her flashlight as she was shaking in fear. "H-hello?" she called out. _

_..._

_"Hayner, Pence, if this is your idea of a joke, it's not funny!"_

_..._

_After searching for about a good 20 minutes, she decided to head back. Another howl reached her ears and Namine picked up the pace till she started to run. But her foot then hit a tree root and she fell flat on her stomach, her flashlight flying out of her hand and landing a few feet away from her. _

_Groaning in pain, she pushed herself up, but when she lifted her head, her blue eyes grew wider than plates at what she saw._

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

_*Flashback end*_

"I couldn't tear my eyes away from this monstrous face and its piercing yellow eyes glowing in the moonlight. I screamed so loudly that it woke up everyone in the camp. By the time they found me in the woods, it was gone."

"So what do you think it was?" Riku asked, a bit intrigued by Namine's story.

"I don't know…when we got back to school, everyone heard about what happened. They made fun of me and I think even Kairi thought I was being crazy, even though she said she didn't. They all thought I was just doing it for attention. I was even sent to a child psychologist because I wouldn't stop talking about it…" she explained, staring down at the picture on her lap.

Riku looked at her sympathetically. "It's not nice to be accused of lying isn't it?"

"No…"

* * *

><p>Xion sat in her bed as she went through the photos in Namine's memory card on her laptop. When she came upon the photo from the poster, she was about to delete it when her mother came into the room. "Hey Xion. I just got back from the market. Is Riku coming for dinner tomorrow?"<p>

"I don't know…" Xion replied.

"Xion, what's wrong?" Tifa sat next to her daughter, her expression etched with concern, "You've had your tail between your legs ever since you came home."

"It's just…" Xion sighed deeply, "I'm tired of lying all the time. I can't even tell my friends what I really am…"

"Well, there's one friend you don't have to lie to," Tifa assured her, "Try to work things out with Riku. He can learn a lot from you."

"But he won't listen."

"Just be patient with him. The poor guy's never had a family, let alone a pack. We have to look out for each other." Tifa smiled and Xion returned it with her own. The raven-haired teen knew her mother was right about helping Riku with transforming safely, but after that argument they had two days ago, she still wasn't keen on talking to him yet. Once Tifa had left the room, Xion looked back at the monitor and hit 'delete'.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Xion saw Kairi walking down the hall, talking to Olette. "Hey," she said, approaching the two, "How's Namine doing Kairi?"<p>

"Surprisingly, she's been feeling a bit better," Kairi responded, "Why?"

"It's just...she was upset yesterday since she lost the memory card."

"She looked all over the house but she couldn't find it anywhere," the auburn-haired girl said, "after that, she ran off into the woods. When she got back, she wasn't as upset anymore."

"Really?" Xion asked, surprised.

Kairi nodded and Olette said, "And she wants us to go with her this weekend to go try and get another photo of the monster."

"Us?"

"Yeah. You, me, Kairi, and everyone else. She even said she'd invite Riku too."

"Riku?" Xion didn't expect Namine to invite Riku, considering that even though their friends had accepted to get along with the silvernette, there were still a few who were still wary of him.

"She saw him yesterday after school," the auburn girl told her, "Said he was very sweet. Kind of unexpected don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess…" Xion replied unsurely.

The warning bell rung and Kairi and Olette quickly said bye to Xion before heading off to class.

Xion was still surprised by the fact that Riku had helped cheer Namine up. And the blonde called him sweet, which wouldn't be one of the words Xion would use to describe him. Stubborn, independent, cocky even; but sweet? Maybe there was more to him than she originally thought…

* * *

><p>At lunch period, Xion found Riku waiting in the lunch line in the cafeteria.<p>

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. You did the right thing taking the card."

"Yeah. Of course," he said, staring at the front of the line.

"So, I was wondering maybe you want to come over for dinner tonight?" Xion reluctantly asked, "My parents want to talk to you about…" She glanced around to make sure no one was listening and lowered her voice. "Wolfing out? You know, safely? I know you want figure things out on your own, but I think it's safer to get it out of the way."

"Out of the way. Sure," Riku responded, distracted.

Xion continued nonchalantly, "And my mom and I are going to braid your hair with ribbons and take a lot of pictures to show all of Twilight Town."

"Cool. Sounds great," he said, obliviously.

Xion scowled. "You're not even listening!"

"Sorry," he apologized, "Hey, do you know what's on the menu?"

"Uh, I think today's Veggie Wednesday." Riku groaned, and that's when Xion realized what was wrong with him.

"Meat."

"Where?" he cried, his eyes widened with excitement.

Xion smirked. "You've got cravings."

"My foster parents are vegitarians, Xion. It's hard enough trying to sneak a bite of meat every once in a while..."

"Well, Wednesday's Roast Night at my place. You know where you get a whole roasted pig," Xion said with an alluring tone, "With all the trimmings."

"A whole pig?" Xion tried to keep from laughing when she saw the hungry look in his turquoise eyes.

"Is that a yes?"

Riku nodded. "Sure. I'll be there." When he had finally made it to the front of the line, he looked down at the food in disgust. "That's it! I can't look at another vegetable!" He set his tray back and left the line, Xion watching him in slight amusement.

* * *

><p>"Xion!"<p>

"Hey!"

Said girl turned around to see Sora running up to her, worry etched on his face, with Hayner right on his heels."Guys, what's wrong?"

Still gasping for air, he asked, "Have you seen Namine or Kairi?"

"I saw Kairi this morning and Namine in Art, but not since then. Why?"

"Look at this." Hayner pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. Xion looked at the contents and her eyes widened.

"Oh no…"

* * *

><p>Namine was walking towards the courtyard when she noticed a few posters mounted on the walls. Taking one down, she was shocked to see what was on it. The poster was similar to the ones Namine had put up, but instead of the dark figure, it had an image of a donkey with Namine's head.<p>

"It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life!" Namine then saw Seifer, Xigbar, and a few other students just outside the building, laughing at one of the posters in their possession.

Namine's distraught expression shifted to an enraged glare. "You!"

"Oh no there it is!" Seifer cried out in feign fright.

"Monster!"

The others howled with laughter. Deeply enraged, Namine stomped over to them to give Seifer a piece of her mind.

Namine lunged at him, but Seifer only laughed as he held her off. "It's attacking me!" he cried out in fake horror, "It's trying to kill me!"

Pence, Olette, Roxas, Axel, and her sister Kairi noticed the hullabaloo and went to go break up the fight just as Xion, Sora, and Hayner came out

"Namine stop it!" Kairi cried as she pried her sister off of Seifer. Olette and Xion helped to hold the blonde back as she kept trying to come at him while the boys stood protectively near the girls.

Axel glared daggers at the smirking assailant. "What's your problem?!"

"Why can't you just leave her alone?" Roxas retorted.

Seifer smirked. "Like we need some poster to prove she's a loser."

"What is going on here?!" Everyone turned their heads to see Mr. Wise coming up to them.

"It was her!" Xigbar exclaimed, pointing at Namine, "she and her little friends tried to assault us!"

"What'd you say?!" Hayner growled.

Before anyone had a chance to explain, the teacher noticed the paper in Namine's hand. "More posters?" he asked incredulously.

"She's crazy! She needs help, ya know!"

"I don't need help!" Namine yelled, "The monster's real and I'll prove it!"

Mr. Wise looked sternly at Namine. "Well, you can do that after detention."

"What?!" Namine exclaimed incredulously.

"All of you!" Mr. Wise said, looking at everyone in the group.

"But sir, if you can just let us explain-!" Sora pleaded, but the teacher would take no excuses.

"Detention! All of you!"

* * *

><p>"Namine, you okay?" Xion whispered, making sure that the teacher wasn't looking. Everyone was sitting quietly in detention, all of them anticipating its end.<p>

"We have to go tonight," Namine muttered.

"Tonight? I thought we were doing it this weekend."

"The monster could be gone by then. We can't waste another day!"

"I can't make it tonight."

"Why?"

"I've got this dinner thing with my parents."

"Then get out of it!"

"I can't! They've been nagging me about it for weeks!"

"Fine." Namine then turned her attention to the others sitting nearby. "What about you guys?"

"Sure!"

"I'm game."

"Me too."

"Count me in!"

"Roxas? Axel?"

Roxas glanced at Namine nervously. "Well, actually, Axel and I were planning to watch a game tonight and-"

"Sure thing Namine," the flaming red-head said, cutting Roxas off, "Wouldn't miss it!"

Namine nodded gratefully and then looked at her sister. "Kairi? Are you going?"

Kairi hesitated slightly before replying. "I guess I could come along. After all, I've got to make sure you don't get into any trouble."

Namine smiled. "We'll meet at the clock tower at five."

* * *

><p>Namine looked at her watch. 5 o'clock exactly. Kairi, Namine, and Olette were already at the clock tower. Now they just have to wait for the other three.<p>

"Hey!" Axel, Roxas, Hayner and Pence, with his camera hanging around his neck, came toward the three girls. Once she made sure everyone was present, Namine asked if everyone got everything.

"Yep!" They all replied.

Olette then grabbed her knapsack and slung it over her shoulder. "Alright, let's head out!"

* * *

><p>At the Strife household, Tifa and Cloud were preparing dinner when Xion came into the kitchen and saw the delicious food on the table. Not able to resist how tasty it smelled, Xion stole a slice of ham to eat.<p>

"Xion, make sure you leave some for Riku," Tifa said sternly.

Xion rolled her eyes as she took another bite. "Mom, I'm sure he'll live."

"Now, your mother has gone through a lot of trouble making this," Cloud said seriously, but then his tone changed amusingly, "After all, the 'steaks' are high."

Both parents laughed. "Oh stop it you silly 'sausage'!" Tifa teased.

"Mom, Dad, please stop that," Xion whined, "I don't want you to make Riku-"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. _Speak of the devil…_

"I'll bet that's him." Cloud then went to go answer the door.

"Evening, Mr. Strife."

"Please Riku. Call me Cloud," the blond man said as he shook Riku's hand, "Come on in."

* * *

><p>As dinner went on, Cloud and Tifa were pretty surprised by how quickly Riku ate his meals, already on his third plateful of meat. Xion wouldn't have guessed his cravings were that big. Then again he did say his foster parents were vegans.<p>

When Riku noticed everyone at the table watching him, he apologized for his behavior, but Cloud and Tifa told him they didn't mind.

Riku smiled kindly. "It's nice, having a family you can be yourself around."

"Well, you're more than welcome to stop by any time Riku," Tifa assured him, "And if you have any questions about anything, just ask."

"On the full moon, do you transform here? In the house?"

"No, we have a secure room in the cellar," the raven-haired mother replied.

"Cellar?" Riku inquired.

* * *

><p>As soon as dinner was over, everyone went down to show Riku the cellar below the house. There was a regular sized couch near the barred doors with a lamp next to it, and on the far end of the room were piles of leaves and shrubs, which were makeshift beds for then they take wolf form.<p>

"You like it?" Cloud asked as the silvernette looked around. "Has everything a wolf wants."

"And it's safe for us and, well, everyone else," Tifa added.

"It's nice, but…don't you ever just want to get out and run free?" Riku questioned, "Isn't that what being a wolfblood's about?"

"Being a wolfblood is not just about giving in to our primal instincts," Tifa explained, "It's about being a responsible part of a wider community."

"Yeah, we have a rich heritage and culture," Cloud continued.

"Yes, but while most of us think it's best to tame our instincts-,"

Xion blinked at what her mother had said. "Most of us?"

"I-I just meant that-" Tifa denied, but Xion cut her off.

"No, you said most of us. You always told me we all kept ourselves locked away!"

Cloud looked at his wife worryingly. "Maybe we should tell her."

"No, she's not old enough," Tifa argued.

"Old enough for what?" Xion glanced between her parents in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Riku was thought deeply until he was able to put two and two together. "There are other wolfbloods who don't lock themselves away, aren't there?"

* * *

><p>"RAWR!"<p>

"BLARGH!"

Hayner and Sora jumped out of nowhere in front of everyone, their flashlights shining under their faces as they were pulling the silliest faces.

Everyone but Namine and Kairi laughed. "Quit messing around guys," Kairi said, her hands on her hip and shaking her head disapprovingly.

"You'll scare away the monster with all that noise," Namine hissed.

"Well sorry!" Hayner said annoyingly.

Axel chuckled, "Lighten up girls. No harm in having a little fun."

"Hey Olette, what snacks did you bring?" Roxas asked, his stomach grumbling from hunger.

Olette searched inside her knapsack. "Here. I've got some granola bars," she said, pulling out said snacks and handing them to him.

Everyone was unaware that there was something hiding deep in the woods, quietly watching them in the dead of night.

* * *

><p>"Is this true?" Xion asked.<p>

"We didn't want to tell you till after you transformed," TIfa explained.

"We didn't want to scare you," Cloud added.

"Scare me? Why would it scare me?" the ravenette questioned incredulously.

Tifa told her hesitantly, "Well, there are other wolfbloods who don't share the same values as us."

"Wild wolfbloods," Cloud explained further, "They're very rare and most of us agree it's better to be a useful part of society instead of…"

Xion looked at her father expectantly. "Instead of what?"

"Hating humans, and civilized wolfbloods like us. They're very dangerous."

Xion exchanged a glance with Riku. "It wasn't really you in that photo wasn't it?"

"I told you it wasn't me," he said.

Xion's indigo eyes widened. "Oh no…our friends are out there!" Before her parents can ask what was wrong, she ran out of the cellar.

* * *

><p>"How much longer do we have to stay out here?" Hayner asked impatiently.<p>

Olette sighed. "Just a bit longer. We promised we'd help Namine look."

The sound of a branch breaking made everyone freeze.

"What was that?" Kairi asked as they all looked around warily.

"Y-you know, maybe we should just go," Pence suggested nervously.

When they heard rustling, nearly everyone jumped. "You guys heard that too right?" Sora asked, getting a bit frightened.

"Yeah," Axel responded while everyone else nodded vigorously.

Noticing the fog around them getting thicker, Roxas said, "Namine, let's go. We won't be able to see anything much less get a good photo."

"Look at that!" Everyone looked to where Kairi was pointing and saw bright yellow eyes cutting through the thick fog from a distance.

* * *

><p>Xion came back down the cellar and showed her parents Namine's poster of the wild wolfblood. "Namine took this yesterday. I thought it was Riku cuz I didn't know about wild wolfbloods!"<p>

"Where did they go?" Cloud asked.

"They went here," Riku told them, pointing at the picture, "I can't explain where it is exactly, but I can find it!"

"No. You two stay here," Tifa ordered as she and Cloud headed out, "If there's a wild wolfblood out there we'll sniff it out!"

Xion and Riku ran out of the cellar after the two adults, but they were too late as they watched the van drive off into the woods.

"This is crazy! They don't even know where they are!" Riku retorted.

"Mom and Dad know what they're doing," Xion said, but that didn't reassure the silvernette as much as it would herself.

"If that wolf's out there, he'll hunt down our friends and who knows if your parents will find them before he does!"

Xion knew he was right. What if they don't reach their friends before the wild wolfblood? "Alright. Let's go find them. But no wolfing out. Pence most likely has his camera with him." With that, the two teens ran off into the woods, following their friends' scents.

* * *

><p>Fumbling with his camera, Pence held it up and started snapping a few shots. With every flash, the beasts' eyes shined even more until it had vanished into the fog. "Ugh! It's gone!" Pence groaned.<p>

"Guys, let's just go!" Olette urged when they heard rustling again, only closer than before.

Nobody moved, not even the slightest. "You hear that?" Roxas murmured.

"Sounds really close," Namine whispered.

Axel nodded. "Yeah. Six o'clock."

"It's close to seven actually," Sora said as he glanced at his watch.

"No, he means right behind us," Kairi whimpered. They all slowly turned around and-

"RRRAAAHHHH!"

Everyone yelped and screamed, but then calmed down and glared when they saw who it was.

"Ha! You should have seen the look on your faces!" Xigbar exclaimed as he, Seifer, and two other boys laughed. One had short black hair and dark skin while the other had pale skin and sported a dirty blonde mullet.

"You jerks!" Kairi hissed.

"Yeah! Not funny!" Sora shouted, glaring at the four laughing their eyes out.

"So, you found your 'monster' yet?" Seifer smirked mockingly once he and his comrades had calmed down from their laughing fit.

"No! Thanks to you, you probably scared it off!" Namine shouted angrily.

"That's ridiculous, ya know?" Rai reprimanded.

"Yeah! What kind of monsters would be scared of us?" Demyx boasted. But all anger and amusement vanished when a howl echoed into the night.

"W-what was that?" Pence asked shakily. Everyone started to move closer to one another until they were back to back in a large circle.

"It's probably just a dog," Hayner said unsurely.

"It's not a dog. It's the monster," Namine claimed, scared yet determined.

"Well, I'm not hanging around to find out," Demyx whimpered as he was about to make a run for it, but Axel pulled him back.

"Hold it! If you run, it'll just chase you!" A few collective gasp escaped when everyone heard rapid footsteps coming their way.

"It's getting close!" Hayner said, his voice shaking as the footsteps got louder and closer.

Closer.

Closer.

"AAAHHHH!"

Everyone screamed as Xion and Riku abruptly halted in front of their friends, relieved that they made it.

"Are you guys okay?" Xion asked once everyone had calmed down.

"We would be if you hadn't nearly given us heart attacks!" Pence reprimanded.

Xion then narrowed her eyes disbelievingly when she noticed Seifer, Xigbar, Demyx, and Rai with them. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Namine asked back, "I thought you were having dinner with your parents."

Sora glanced at both Riku and Xion. "You're having dinner with Riku?"

"Like on a date?" Seifer asked amusingly, earning a couple of "oohs" from the other three boys.

If it weren't for the dark veil of night, Xion's blush would've been noticeable, whether it was from embarrassment or anger. "Oh shut up! He's my cousin!"

"Uh, guys…"

"Don't bother denying it poppet! It seems pretty obvious!"

"Guys…"

"Don't you ever just shut up Xigbar?"

"Why don't you make me Flamingstocks?"

"Guys!"

"What?!" Everyone asked, looking at Sora in slight irritation. He pointed at a dark shape with glowing yellow eyes moving in the fog.

"It's the monster!" Demyx cried out as everyone stared in shock as the figure disappeared. Little did anyone notice Riku had silently slipped away.

Roxas then heard growling from behind and turned around slowly. "No, that's the monster!" he shouted, making the others look in the same direction. The same dark figure, shrouded by the fog, growled fiercely as it bore its yellow eyes at the teenagers.

"Everyone get back!" Axel ordered. Everyone but Xion complied and the ravenette only took a cautious step towards the wild wolfblood in the shadows. "Xion! Xion, get back here!"

The ravenous wolf stalked closer to them when all of a sudden, another dark shape tackled it to the ground.

Xion turned to her friends and yelled, "RUN!" Everyone ran off in the opposite direction of the wolf as fast as they could. Coming up to a large grove of roots and branches, everyone jumped and climbed over them when-

"Ah! OW!"

Everyone stopped and looked back. "Roxas!" Namine cried worryingly when she saw the spiky blonde sprawled on the ground and ran to his side. "What's wrong?"

"My foot! It's stuck!" he exclaimed as he tried to pry his foot out from the tangled roots.

As Hayner, Olette, Sora, Pence, Kairi, Xion, and Axel rushed to help him, another howl was heard and Seifer, Xigbar, Rai, and Demyx were about to flee. "Wait! Aren't you gonna help us get Roxas out?" Xion asked incredulously.

"Whatever! It's every man for himself!" Seifer responded.

"Let's go, ya know!" Rai exclaimed as he, Demyx, and Xigbar ran right behind Seifer.

Hayner scoffed. "Cowards…"

As the seven of them worked on getting Roxas unstuck, they grew more frantic when they heard growling and snarling.

"Pence give me your camera!" Xion ordered, holding her hand out.

"What? Why?" Pence asked, confused.

"The flash blinds the monster!" she explained. Reluctantly, Pence removed his camera from around his neck and gave it to Xion. "You guys help Roxas get free! I'll drive the monster away!" she said just before running back the way they came.

"Xion, wait! Stop!" Axel shouted, but Xion was out of earshot as she disappeared into the fog. "Once you get him out, stay here till it's safe! I'll go help Xion!" Before anyone could protest, Axel had gone off after her.

* * *

><p>Once Xion had reached the clearing where she saw the wild wolfblood, he was fighting against a familiar silver wolf. She watched as the two wolves growled as they circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. The wild wolf made the first move and lunged, but Riku was able to evade its jaws and retaliated by striking back. But the wild wolfblood tacked him, knocking the silvernette back and causing him to hit a large boulder before he collapsed on the ground.<p>

"Riku!" The other wolf hovered over the fazed silver one, but it turned its attention to Xion when she screamed, "Leave him alone!"

At first, the wild wolfblood looked at the glaring ravenette as just a mere human bystander, but it growled fiercely when it saw her indigo eyes change to a bright yellow. Once Xion got the wolfblood's full attention, she used Pence's camera flash to blind it and scare it away. Her eyes returning to normal, Xion saw Riku sprawled on the ground in his human form and ran to his aide.

* * *

><p>Roxas rubbed his ankle as he sat on the ground, glad that he was free but a bit upset that he might've sprained it.<p>

"Are you going to be okay?" Namine asked worryingly.

"It still kinda hurts, but I'll be fine," he assured her.

"Hey, listen," Olette said under her breathe. Everyone remained quiet as they listened. Hearing nothing, Hayner and Sora peered out into the open, scoping the area.

"I think it's gone," Sora whispered and Hayner nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>While Riku rested by the tree, Xion checked to make sure he wasn't too injured from the fight. "You okay Riku?"<p>

"A bit banged up, but I'll be okay," Riku replied, groaning softly from the pain.

Xion then sat down next to him and looked through Pence's camera, deleting any image where the wolfblood was clearly visible. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

Riku shrugged. "I don't blame you. We didn't know about wild wolfbloods."

"How about this one?" she asked, showing him one of the photos.

"You can't really tell it's a wolf," he replied.

"Well, we have to leave something for Namine."

"Yeah. Oh, this one shows my best side." Xion rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Where'd the others go?"

"Roxas got his leg stuck, so the others were helping him. As for Seifer, Xigbar, Rai, and Demyx, it was 'every man for himself'."

Riku chuckled softly. "Cowards."

"No kidding." Xion then got an idea. "I'll be right back!"

"So I guess I'll go find the others on my own huh?" Riku yelled sarcastically as Xion ran off to who knows where. Riku smirked. "Alright."

* * *

><p>Xion ran through the trees as she followed a certain scent when a voice stopped her in her tracks.<p>

"Well hello there, Xion."

Said girl turned her head and saw Axel leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. "A-Axel. What are you doing here?"

"After you ran off, I had to make sure that monster didn't try to kill you," he explained, "But seeing that you're still alive, I guess everything's under control now."

Xion was stunned with shock. Did Axel saw what happened?

"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Axel said, arching his eyebrow.

Xion shook her head. "I-it's nothing."

Axel was suspicious at first, but then decided to brush it off. "Where's Riku?"

Xion let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, relieved that Axel didn't see. "He went back to the others."

"Anyway, I get the feeling that you're looking for a certain foursome right?" He laughed when he saw Xion's surprise face. "Funny, I was thinking of the same thing when they flaked out on us. Now what do you say we work together on getting a little payback?"

Xion smirked in response.

"Alright then, let's go find them!" Xion then took off, not noticing the suspicious look on Axel's face as the red head glanced from Xion and towards where she was running from before going after her.

* * *

><p>"What do you think it was?" Hayner asked as he and Riku helped Roxas walk on his hurt ankle.<p>

"It had to be a beast," Sora guessed.

"Sure sounded like one," Pence agreed.

"Or it could've been foxes," Riku argued, "I mean, have you ever seen foxes fight?"

Just then, Xion and Axel had caught up to them, though they unintentionally making everyone jump.

"Where have you been?" Olette asked, still recovering from the scare.

"Looking for you," Axel answered. After returning the camera to Pence, Xion and Axel walked along with their friends as they trekked through the woods.

"Anyway, what I saw was way bigger than a fox. There's definitely something out there," Namine stated.

"What's that?" Riku asked as they saw a light coming their way. It was then revealed to be a black van and when the car stopped in front of the teens, Tifa and Cloud stepped out.

"Is everyone alright?" Tifa asked, and then noticed Riku and Xion with them, "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kairi asked suspiciously.

Tifa stuttered, "W-we were-"

"Going out for a drive," Cloud finished.

"Cloud likes star-gazing," Tifa said at the same time Cloud said "Tifa likes bird watching", earning a few skeptic looks from the group of teenagers.

"Right," Axel said suspiciously, but then addressed the matter at hand. "Anyway, Roxas sprained his ankle."

Tifa gasped. "Let's get you back to the house. The rest of you, we'll take you home as soon as we get Roxas patched up." Everyone then piled into the van without hesitation.

"You okay?" Xion asked Roxas.

"Just a bit freaked out I guess," he answered, everyone else then admitting they were too as the van drove off.

* * *

><p>"No...no...no...no...no..."<p>

Namine searched through the photos from Pence's camera through Xion's laptop, only finding many that didn't have a clear image of the monster. Riku, Xion, Axel, Kairi, and Sora were in Xion's room with Namine while Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were in the living room so Tifa could patch up Roxas' ankle.

"Wait! What's that?" Sora exclaimed, causing everyone in the room to look at the monitor. But upon closer inspection, their anticipation deflated. "Oh. Just a badger, never mind…"

"Namine, I don't think any of them are good enough," Kairi solemnly said.

Namine shook her head. "I know it's out there Kairi. I'll find it. Someday…"

"What about this one?" Axel asked as he pointed at one of the photos showing the monster's eyes. "it's not clear but you can still see something though."

"It might be good enough for another poster at least," Xion added.

"No guys. I think I'm done with posters," Namine sighed.

"Are you sure you're done with posters?" Xion said slyly, clicking on a certain picture. They all had amused expressions plastered on their faces.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Seifer, Xigbar, Rai, and Demyx were walking up to the school building when they saw their 10 least favorite people standing casually near the entrance.<p>

"What are you looking at, chickenwusses?" Seifer scoffed as he and the guys brushed passed them, ignoring the smirks on the teens' faces.

Going through the hallways, the four guys couldn't help noticing that a few of the students were looking at them strangely and laughing at them. They were confused by this until they noticed the posters of them on the walls.

"'Crybabies of Twilight Town'?" Xigbar read out loud, all four of them in utter shocked.

"I didn't cry!" Demyx denied.

"I wasn't crying, ya know!" Rai said.

Seifer only grumbled as he ripped off one of the posters and crumpled it before throwing it to the ground.

As Xion and her friends watched the humiliated four walk away, they were feeling pretty satisfied that they got a little payback.

"Alright!" Sora cheered as he pumped his fist in the air.

"Sure showed him!" Hayner said as he fist bumped Roxas and high-fived Pence and Riku.

The girls did a group high five and Axel smiled as he watched the others celebrate. But when his eyes fell on Xion and Riku, his eyes showed a slight hint of suspicion. _  
><em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Phew! Over 7,500 words and 22 pages. By far, the longest chapter I have ever put up! :P<strong>_

_**Hope you guys like it! :)**_

_**By the way, thank you so much for those who reviewed the last two chapters and those who favored and followed this fanfic. **_

_**Followers: Jennifer861, Skylar Windsong, and attack on kronos**_

_**Favorers: Jenifer861 and Skylar Windsong**_

_**Reviewers: Muffinmilk317, Skylar Windsong, and dreamdropwriterboy  
><strong>_

_**Thank you so much! :D**_

_**I don't know if I'll keep working on this fanfic even after Halloween, but we'll see.**_

_**Please review! Tell me what you liked, what you think needs to be worked on, etc. Constructive criticism is most appreciated! **_

_**See you in the next chapter!**_

_**Arrrrrroooooooooo!**_


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